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PM damages Barnett with GST retreat

If Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's first visit to Perth in six months was supposed to give a much-needed boost to Premier Colin Barnett's election campaign, then it was a failure.

Mr Barnett sparked speculation over the past few days that the PM would outline firm steps towards setting a floor for GST funding, saying it would be the first thing discussed.

The collapse in WA's GST revenue to 30 cents in the dollar, or 30 per cent of its per capita share - compared to about 100 cents for the other states - is the cause of the state's record debt and deficit woes, says Mr Barnett.

That equates to a $4.7 billion shortfall this year compared to the state's population share.

Instead of helping him on Monday, Mr Turnbull threw the premier under a bus and all but walked away from a promise made the last time he was in WA to set a floor.

"We need to wait a few years until the Western Australian share under the current formula climbs back up to a more normal level, 70 cents in 2019/20 ... ," he told reporters, adding that it would also require the agreement of other states.

The smile visibly disappeared from the premier's face during an awkward press conference in which the PM then talked about how Mr Barnett was the most admired premier in the nation.

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It was in stark contrast to August 13 last year, when Mr Turnbull committed to fixing the system and said West Australians had every right to be aggrieved, as he got a standing ovation at the Liberal Party state conference.

That promise is looking almost meaningless now.

Mr Turnbull argues that what he said on Monday is consistent with what he said six months ago and, looking back at the differences between then and now, maybe the embarrassment of Monday is the premier's fault for raising expectations.

Mr Barnett talked it up after that meeting, saying it was the strongest commitment made by a PM who appeared to recognise he could fix the system himself and "it's not something the other states have to agree to".

That was completely contradicted by the PM on Monday and he never said it in August either - in fact he said there would "political difficulty" in achieving the reforms.

The Commonwealth Grant's Commission's mathematical formula is not well understood but regarded as highly flawed, given WA's share of GST has plunged at the same time revenue from mining royalties also fell at an even more stunning rate.

However, Mr Turnbull runs the whole country, including eight states and territories, with a range of conflicting wants and needs.

As University of Notre Dame adjunct professor of politics Peter Kennedy says: "The reality is if he cuts a better deal for Western Australia, particularly in the current climate, someone else loses and he is not prepared to do that."